Pasties

That's pronounced "pass-tees", not "pay-stees", for those of you who have never eaten one before.  A sort of folded meat and vegetable pie.  Very popular in the U.P. (Michigan's Upper Peninsula, for you who are unfamiliar with both pasties and the U.P.).

We lived up there (the U.P.) for about two years while DH was finishing up his engineering degree at the very college that DS2 now attends.  It was during our time in the U.P. that I became acquainted with pasties.  Ironically, it wasn't until DH had graduated and we'd moved back down state that I ever made pasties myself.  In the U.P. it was my boss's wife who made the pasties.  So, when I began to cook them from scratch, I fashioned mine after her recipe.

Pasties
1 lb burger (beef or venison)
1 lb ground pork or pork sausage (I prefer ground pork as the sausage is sometimes overpoweringly salty)
1 large onion, chopped
1 rutabaga
2-3 large potatoes
2-3 large carrots
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp mustard (the yellow kind in the bottle, not dry mustard)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

(If you've never had rutabaga before and don't think you want to eat one, just trust me on this.  It's not a pasty if you don't use rutabaga.)

Peel and dice the rutabaga, potatoes and carrots and steam until tender. (20-30  minutes after water comes to a boil).

veggies mixed together in the steamer and ready to cook

Meanwhile, brown the burger and pork, and the chopped onion, stirring them together well as they cook.

Make enough pie crust for 2 two-crust 9" pies.  That ought to be enough to make about a dozen pasties.

Here's my pie crust recipe for that:
4 cups flour
1 1/3 cups shortening (plus a little bit, maybe another couple of tbsp)
2 tsp salt
about 1/2 cup cold water

Cut flour, shortening & salt together until crumbly, then slowly add about 1/2 cup water, a few tbsp at a time, until dough forms roughly into a ball when stirred.  Cover until ready to use.


When the meat is done cooking, drain well and put in a large mixing bowl.  Add  cooked veggies.  Stir in the ketchup, mustard, cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Divide your pie crust dough into twelve pieces.  Roll one piece at a time into a circle about 7" or 8" in diameter.

don't worry if it's not perfectly round; it will still be edible :0)

  In the center of the dough, place 1/2 cup of pasty filling (the meat/veggie mixture). 

Fold dough over filling,

and crimp the edges shut either by pressing with a fork or by rolling the dough into a twist with your fingers.

Place on two large cookie sheets; six pasties per sheet.  You can beat an egg with a little water and brush on the tops of the pasties, and they will get a nice brown glaze when cooked.  Or, you can skip that step (I usually do), and your pasties will just be a little pasty (ha ha, as in pale: "pay-stee" "pass-tees", get it?  It's okay to groan at my pun, my family does).

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

It's okay if your pasties are less than symmetrical,

or if the crust tears a bit in the folding and crimping. 

As you can see, mine aren't exactly perfect.

mmm, mmm, good!

Leftover pasties can be individually wrapped in foil, and frozen.  They make a great, filling lunch if you, your spouse, or kids have access to a microwave at school or work.